


Chance for Hope

by Cosmignon



Category: Dice Funk Podcast D&D Campaign
Genre: bc i didnt want to go thru the time to add it everywhere, but thats whats real and true, imagine the star emoji behind big stars name
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2020-02-16 19:52:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18698065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cosmignon/pseuds/Cosmignon
Summary: Her world froze.Standing in the archway was a man who took up nearly all the space. He was a bulky minotaur with bright white fur. An Invicta tattoo was emblazoned in the middle of his chest, but aside from that he was just how she remembered him.He was Big Star.





	Chance for Hope

**Author's Note:**

> Olivia would've been going by Lillith at this point but for the sake of simplicity I'm just calling her Olivia outside of dialogue. Big Star might've also been going by a different name (edit: Luther) but he is also just Big Star for the same reason.  
> I'm also not sure if this is canon compliant w/the timeline but I'm just following my heart.   
> EDIT: This is /not/ compliant with the canon timeline bc Chris says these two first met /at/ drift park. but you know what. I'm resisting my urge to delete this and letting it stay up bc I still think it came out good. Love these two, fuck it.

Olivia held her breath as her last patient left her office. During most hours of the day, her cramped medical office was practically swarming with veterans and other Invicta members. Tonight? The building was almost empty. The man she’d just treated was heading off with a cast for his arm, and no one was left waiting behind him. As soon as the door shut, Olivia sighed deeply.

She took a seat on the nearest sick bed, and stretched her arms up above her, cracking her fingers in the process. Her muscles were tense.

There would never be a moment where she would regret doing her work as a doctor. But this wasn’t the place she’d prefer to do it in - in fact it was definitely in her bottom 5. So she had to take solace in the brief breaks she got when things went quiet. Just getting up and going to bed sounded really nice right about then.

She heard the door swing back open, and she quickly jumped back on her feet, her arms to her side. She wished that whoever was coming in wouldn’t need to be there for too long. More than that though, she simply hoped they hadn’t seen her jump. She knew she wouldn’t want to see herself slacking off.

She performatively dusted herself off, and with a practiced friendly tone said “Hello,” she looked over to the door, “My name is…”

Her world froze.

Standing in the archway was a man who took up nearly all the space. He was a bulky minotaur with bright white fur. An Invicta tattoo was emblazoned in the middle of his chest, but aside from that he was just how she remembered him.

He was Big Star.

Her best friend… at least, he had been, the last time she’d ever seen him. Never in her sleepless nights in this claustrophobic office had she ever imagined she’d see him again. Her mind was suddenly blank.

As he stepped into her office, Olivia said nothing. She watched as he had to turn his head slightly to fit his horns through the door. His face was hard to read. He had a pair of dark sunglasses obscuring his eyes, and his lips were crooked in a very slight frown.

For a moment, he didn’t speak either. They stood across the office from each other. Olivia felt the distance of the entire world between them. What was she supposed to do now?

Big Star slowly put a hand to his sunglasses, and pulled them off. His eyes glistened, and his lip quivered. “Lily?”

Olivia slowly nodded her head.

It only took Big Star a few long strides to cross the room. Olivia’s vision was clouded with fur, and her body nearly ached as Big Star swept her up in a hug. His fur was soft. Olivia felt a wave of old, repressed memories flooding into her mind: sitting in her old office, long talks with Big Star, laughing with Dr. Tenma over dumb jokes.

She took a shaky breath, and tried to speak, but nothing came out. Not even tears came; instead she felt a quake deep in her soul that wouldn’t steady. Her whole body shook from it. Big Star hugged her tighter.

“I can’t believe you’re really here,” Big Star whispered in his rough, deep voice. “We all – I thought you were dead.”

“…I know. I’m sorry.” Olivia’s voice cracked.

They didn’t say anything else for a while. Olivia liked the feeling of being pressed against Big Star’s fur, and the way his arms wrapped around her like he would never let go. Most of all though, she liked how familiar it all felt. She’d thought she’d never get to feel this way again. That she’d feel safe. For a moment, she desperately wanted nothing more than to look around, and see her hometown.

Her sense of safety wavered when Big Star started shivering himself. He sniffed, and coughed before he let out a sob.

“I’m sorry” Olivia repeated solemnly. Her hopes were just that - hopes, dashed again by the reality of her situation. They were in Drift Park, and she was trapped there. She had to keep her head on her shoulders, especially now.

“Don’t you apologize. I’m the one who’s sorry.” Big Star breathed heavily. “But, I’m just so thankful that you’re alright. When I heard your name get mentioned around the station, I knew that I had to come find you. And here you are.”

Olivia tightened her grip around a clump of fur on Big Star’s back. “You mean you just found out I was here?”

“I tried to look for you, when you first disappeared. The trail turned up ice cold. Up until a half-hour ago I… I had stopped looking.” Another great sob racked Big Star’s body.

“It’s not you’re fault,” Olivia tried to reassure him, “I would have left anything behind for you if I could have but… I don’t know if I can talk about it right here. It's not safe.”

The office they stood in was quiet and empty. Olivia knew there wasn’t much chance of someone else walking in. But there was a chance. Talking about Cassius negatively at all was a risk she knew not to take around anyone else. Even Big Star.

“I understand.” Big Star slowly started releasing his grip on Olivia. “Look at me, hah, barging into your office without any warning.”

“There’s no other way I’d want it to happen, big guy.” She felt lighter than air for a moment. She looked up, and his big, dewy eyes were looking back down at her. Two streaks of wet fur trailed down his cheeks, but he was smiling at her. She smiled back, so glad that he was still standing there and not a dream.

He wiped his eyes, and a frown crept across his lips again. “If you can’t talk about how you got here, well, _here_ , I can only assume something is quite wrong about _here_.” He slipped his sunglasses back on. “When is a good time to talk?”

Olivia ran the scenarios through her mind, of all the places she was allowed to go, restricted from, the dates arranged for her to check in on Cassius, everything. “Meet me tomorrow night, midnight, by the Ferris wheel. I know a better place to talk from there but I need time to arrange some things.” If everything went well, she could usher Big Star down into the old staff tunnel that ran near by the facility.

“Sounds like a plan.” Big Star saluted and started to turn back and out.

Olivia watched him go, and as he walked away from her dozens of questions and concerns and fears fried her brain that she wanted to scream out to him.

In what was almost a whisper, she called out, “Wait.”

Big Star paused, and turned back to her with his hand at the door.

Olivia took a deep breath, “Before you go, I need to know. How’s my family?”

Big Star wore a terribly small, sad smile on his face. “They’ve been doing well, last time I heard from them. Your brother’s got a little band project going on. Your parents moved, just across town I think… and they all miss you.”

Her throat felt tight, and she struggled with her words, but she managed to say, “Thank you.”

Big Star nodded, “They love you. And so do I. I’ll be back tomorrow.” He slipped out without another word.

Olivia stood alone, enveloped by the sick glow of ceiling lights that kept the room dimly lit. The corners of her mouth ached from the strain of keeping herself from crumpling up like paper. Was this really happening? It had to be, because she wasn’t this creative. To see an old friend again, without having sent a message or any sort of sign: It was like the universe had brought him here, to her.

It was too good to be true, and the scary part was that it wasn’t even _that_ good. She knew what Big Star would do when he learned what had really happened. What would Cassius try to do if he found out? She didn’t even need to ask, but wanted to imagine a world where maybe she did. It wasn’t much better than reality.

She took a few steps back, until her backside hit up against the counters that held medical supplies and pens and paper. She took a deep breath, covered her mouth with her hands, and started sinking down to the floor. The trembling in her heart couldn’t be stopped by the paper-thin barrier of calm any longer. She wailed loudly, the noise only superficially muffled by her hands.

The floodgates opened, and she shook as she cried into her hands. When was the last time she had even cried? She remembered those first cold, long nights at Drift Park – the bitter few months before she grew numb to it all. That was nearly 10 years ago. Her eyes strung as hot tears carried the weight of that realization.

Slow, painful minutes passed. Before she could stop it, a new thought quietly but sternly blossomed in the back of her mind. It was the thought of Big Star, standing over her, reminding her, in his own words, that she was a bright, shining light, like a star. Those were words she hadn’t even realized she had held onto so tightly. Then, he would reach his hand down to help her up.

Her sobs slowed to a trickle. The odds of her actually escaping were beyond low. She had stopped letting herself hope a long time ago. At least, she thought she had.

As she sat on the tiled floor, she pulled her hands from her face. As she rested them on her arms, she gripped the fabric of her lab-coat so tightly it threatened to rip.

Now, there was a chance for hope.

And she wanted to take it.


End file.
